To Find Our Way
by AniDragon aka Riona-chan
Summary: Nuriko and Tasuki get lost in the woods, and have ot find a way to get back to the palace. No angst yet, but it's coming! Rated PG13 for Tasuki's language. Discontinued. Someone offered to finish it for me, but I dunno their name on here, so... yeah.


**To Find Our Way (Part 1)**   
**~The Cliff~**

**by: AniDragon**   
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Nuriko slowly snuck out of his room. He made his way through the gardens, past the pond, and further still, into the woods bordering the palace grounds. He had changed from the robes he usually wore to sleep into a comfortable burgundy tunic with black pants underneath. He had to admit it wasn't as feminine as most of his other cloths, but style wasn't important as of now. He needed comfort and free movement, and this outfit was best for that. He heard footsteps and quickly ducked behind a tree. He peaked out cautiously, expecting to see a wild animal or something.   
He hadn't expected to see Tasuki.   
He gasped under his breath, and slowly made his way out, "Tasuki?!"   
The bandit jumped and reached for his fan, "What the fuck?!"   
"Tasuki, it's me!!!" Nuriko quickly assured him, "What are you doing here?!"   
Tasuki let go of the hilt of the fan, "Me? What are _you_ doing here? I jus' saw some movement heading over here and came to see what it was."   
Nuriko silently thanked the darkness for hiding his blush, "Oh... Well... I was just taking a walk...."   
Tasuki raised an eyebrow, "Why don't I believe you?"   
"Because you're stubborn?" Nuriko tried.   
"Or maybe because I know you're hiding something."   
Nuriko bit his lip and looked away, "It's really not much... Really, it's not! It _is_ kind of embarrassing though..."   
Tasuki frowned, "You're not spying for the Seiryuu team, are you?"   
Nuriko's eyes widened in shock, then he began laughing, "_That_'s what you thought?! Iie! Iie! It's nothing like _that_!" He held back another laugh, "I guess I'll tell you. I was training."   
The bandit raised an eyebrow, "Training?"   
Nuriko blushed again, "Yeah, despite my strength, I don't really know how to fight. After all, I was posing as a girl for most of my life. I was trying to teach my self a little bit of martial arts. We're leaving for Hokkan in a week, and you never know when I might need to fight."   
Tasuki relaxed, "Geez, was that all? Why the fuck were you hiding it? I could help you out with that, you know. I mean, I'm a bandit. I know how to fight. I could teach you a few things."   
Nuriko smiled a bit, "You... would?"   
Tasuki rolled his eyes, "Duh! What are friends for, anyway?"   
Nuriko grinned and threw his arms around Tasuki, "Wai! Arigatou Gen-chan!"   
The said bandit blushed as red as his hair, "Oi! Get off! And call me Gen-chan one more time and I'll take it back!"   
Nuriko pulled away from Tasuki, giggling, "Aw, you don't mean that!"   
"Hmph!"   
Nuriko noticed the red tint on Tasuki's face and smiled mischievously. He took one of his hands that was still around the bandit's shoulder and slid it down to his chest, "You know... I could always find a way to pay you back for helping me," He said in a suggestive tone. He barely held back a laugh when he saw Tasuki blush even more and start looking around nervously.   
"Uh... Well... That is to say, I...."   
Nuriko didn't miss his chance. He pressed himself against the bandit's chest and put his mouth near his ear, "You know..." He started in a husky whisper, then smiled, "You're blushing like an idiot!"   
He pulled away, laughing, as Tasuki tried to hit him over the head with his fan.   
"NOT funny!"   
"It was for me!"   
Tasuki stuck out his tongue, but then noticed a small gleaming out of the corner of his eye, "GET DOWN!!!" He shouted, pushing Nuriko away just as a wildcat pounced where they had just been standing.   
Nuriko let out a small scream, as the two of them suddenly realized that they had earlier been standing right next to a cliff. His eyes widened in shock, as he felt the ground underneath his feet break, and gripped tightly to Tasuki as the two of them tumbled down.   
Thankfully for both of them, the cliff wasn't very high, but it was still enough to bruise them both. Nuriko's fall was broken by a certain bandit whom, 'till this day, still denies having landed like that on purpose.   
As Nuriko propped himself up on his elbows, he looked over to the top of the cliff. The wildcat looked over the side of the cliff, snorted, then walked away.   
The purple haired seishi stood up and held his hand out to help Tasuki up. The said bandit muttered a quick thanks, then brought his hand to his head, wincing.   
"You okay?"   
"Yeah, don't worry about it. My head's too hard to be hurt _that_ easily," He smiled, "What about you?"   
"I'm fine, you broke my fall. But there's a little, um, problem."   
Tasuki raised an eyebrow, "Problem?"   
Nuriko put his hand on the cliff wall, "Well, the cliff wasn't very tall, but it's way too steep to climb back up."   
The bandit shrugged, "So we'll go around or something."   
The willow seishi bit his lip, "Easier said then done. I've never been in this part of the woods. How will we know which way to go?"   
"Oh..." The reality of everything seemed to hit him all at once. Even though they were maybe only a few yards away from the palace, getting back wasn't going to be an easy feat, "Well, we could start going one way, then if we see that the cliff doesn't get much better, we'll turn around and go the other way. We should be back at the palace by sunrise."   
Nuriko nodded, yet there was something nagging at the back of his mind. Something he was forgetting. He shrugged it off, then began following Tasuki, who had already started walking. 

**~End of part 1~******

(A/N: Waaaaahhhhh!!!!!! It's too short! *pouts* Damn it, and me who thought I was over that stage of writing short chapters. Anyway, now that this part's over, the rest should move at least a BIT more smoothly.... Maybe... As you can probably see, I had to improvise at a lot of parts. So there may be a few things that don't make sense. (ex: Why there was a wildcat in the woods bordering the palace....) Anyway, I'll stop pointing out my mistakes, 'cause chances are you've already noticed them.... Anyway, please review!!!) 


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